“And When I Awoke, I Was Alone: This Bird Had Flown.”

Yep. This is the type of a subject my lover had to suffer through, during my version of a pillow talk, this morning.

Because I’m that type of a girl: Intense.

And once — but once! — in my life, I’ve entertained getting a tattoo; and the only line that I’ve been able to come up with, to permanently wear on my body is:

“I don’t cut corners.”

(What? I would’ve translated it into Russian, for the sake of some interesting variety. But that’s the gist of it: I don’t cut corners.)

I can’t imagine wearing hearts or flowers, or birds, or bloody butterflies on my ass. Oh sure, they look pretty on other girls — other birds. I’ve seen that before. But I don’t think anyone would take such a tattoo seriously — on my wings.

Because I am that type of a bird: Intense.

So, what is a lover to do with a line like that, in the presence of his morning hard-on? Answer it — with all honesty. I won’t settle for less.

He doesn’t have to be earnest about the whole thing: We can still laugh our heads off. (And I am always the first to crack jokes — on the subject of me.) But truth — is the only way to roll with me (the only way to fly), especially when that rolling happens in between the sheets.

And so he did, god bless him: My darling man. In the presence of his morning hard-on, he obeyed my unpredictable interrogation on the subject of birds:

“Of course, they do,” he said. “Birds get caught in storms all the time.”

“Hmm,” I considered. “‘Cause I’d think they would know how to sit this one out.”

My lover looked up at me, from his pillow. I think he was starting to catch on: He certainly had one intense bird on his hands — and in between his sheets.

“Well. Migratory birds must fly through storms all the time, I imagine,” he said.

Gotta give it to the man — my darling man: He was taking this whole thing quite seriously.

By now, I’ve learned a thing or two about great migrations. I understand the reckless courage it takes to cross the Ocean in pursuit of safer home ground or better statistics for survival; the open-mindedness that it takes to travel long distances, and the gratitude with which one must be perpetually fueled, in order to persevere through storms. With migratory birds, of course, it’s a matter of their nature. Their courage must come genetically preprogramed.

My lover was catching on:

“You do have a tremendous talent for getting tangled up in storms,” he joked.

In between the sheets, the air got lighter: We were about to start laughing our heads off — on the subject of me — to lift off and start flying. So, he began tickling my wings.

But still, my darling man was right: In my avian life, I’ve found myself tangled up in a number of storms; and there have been times when I’ve flown into them voluntarily.

Because that’s the type of a bird I am: I don’t cut corners.

Sometimes, chaos is the only way to learn. Sometimes, chaos — is the fastest way to the other side.

I’ve watched other birds get in tune with their nature: To listen up and get the fuck out of the way of a storm that they were unlikely to survive. “To sit this one out.” But those birds must not migrate much. They lead safer lives, lovelier and simpler ones, closer to the ground. Because in their avian lives, they haven’t lived through a drastic change of a climate, a life-changing current of air.

And sure, those lives look pretty on other birds. I’ve seen that before. But I don’t think I could could take such a life seriously — on my wings.

For I am not that type of a bird.

There have been plenty of loves, in my avian life, how ever transitory or fleeting; and they have carried me through a number of great migrations. Quite a few of them were stormy, life-changing; and I had flown into them, voluntarily.

Because sometimes, chaos — is the fastest way to the other side.

And I just: Don’t. Cut. Corners.

Perhaps, the only destination in my avian life — has been love itself. And it must be the only meaning behind my great migration.